Rise of Ragnarok
by Chrono Crusader-Zhang
Summary: After helping an injured Fang, Vanille finds herself in the center of a new world. A world full of magic, destruction and intergalatic forces all trying to find the ultimate source of Crystarium which happens to be Vanille herself.
1. A Break from the Normal

Well, I'm back, and its been awhile since I've posted anything on and it's high time I got back into the swing of things. So I present to you a Final Fantasy 13 Au, and I promise its not a highschool fic, seriously its not.

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><p>Rise of Ragnarok<p>

Chapter 1: A Break from the Normal

Death swirled around her as she fought, trusty spear in her hand slicing through waves of enemies. A well timed turn, a flick of her wrist and at least three of her enemies met their demise. "Impressive, I didn't expect you to last this long with that injury." A woman dressed in a brown overcoat, and matching short skirt looked down at her. Her glasses reflecting the moonlight as she regarded the spear wielding warrior below her. The horde surrounding the warrior retreated slightly giving her a moment of respite and she noticeably sagged. One eye closing as blood trickled over it. "How long can you keep this up Fang?" the woman laughed cruelly lazily flicking her wrist.

The battle once again resumed and the brunette warrior slowly felt her body weaken. "Have fun Fang." The glasses wearing woman disappeared in a swirl of dark energy, leaving the blue clad warrior to her demise.

"Shit." Fang grumbled sweeping her spear over her head she brought it down knocking back a few enemies with the shock wave. Knocking another down with a wide horizontal sweep, she stumbled slightly from the effort it took. Her guard broken another dark clad figure surged forward sending a sword into her exposed stomach. Groaning Fang knew she was running out of time, knocking away the enemy closest to her she racked her brain for a quick spell to allow her to escape. With a faint smirk she held one glowing hand towards the air and screamed towards the heavens, "RUINGA." A flash of white enveloped the forest clearing.

0000

Smiling brightly, a young redhead made her way down a sidewalk, it was the first day of summer break and the music playing on her mp3 player was just right for the occasion. Heavy guitar riffs lifted into a slightly upbeat and poppy mix of overly happy vocals.

Rounding a corner she found herself walking alongside the city park, birds chirping happily and woodland animals darting in and out of the cover of foliage. She merrily skipped down the sidewalk thinking of all the things she was going to do today. Hangout with her boyfriend, hopefully trick him into watching a chick flick and maybe a stroll through the park bathed in twilight afterwards. She smiled to herself imagining the events in her head.

Her fluff laden thoughts were interrupted as she spotted someone leaned against a tree. A woman dressed in a ripped skin-tight, blue tee with equally ripped pants. "Is she a hippy? Maybe a hobo?" With the wild state the woman's hair and clothes were in that was the only possible conclusion. With mild disgust she noted the brown substance caked on the tan woman's skin.

But the closer the redhead got, the less it looked like the woman was sleeping peacefully. When the teen was within a foot of the woman, she realized something was very wrong, what had looked like mud was actually dried blood, and the woman's skin was marred with bruises and small cuts. Looking around the girl found herself eerily alone on the sidewalk, alone with an injured woman who was unconscious.

Crouching down she looked at the woman's face, hair that wasn't matted with blood hung loosely in her face along with the shade and sunlight casting swaying shadows on her visage, the red head blushed faintly and almost died when she noticed the small beauty mark under the brunette's right eye. "She's pretty…" the redhead breathed out unaware that she'd even said it out loud.

Reaching out a hand her fingers ghosted over the woman's cheek. The redhead jolted when an overly poppy tune abruptly destroyed the silence. Stumbling back from the unconscious brunette, she scrambled to pull out her cell phone.

"H-hello?"

"Vanille? Are you okay?" the redhead cast a worried glance over to the brunette, a low groan escaped her lips as she moved slightly, straightening out her leg.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little…surprised is all."

"Oh, okay, well how close are you to the park?" Vanille cast another apprehensive glance toward the brunette.

"Umm, Hope, about that, I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"But why…it's our one month." Her boyfriend's voice went from normal into a slightly whiney and less than masculine pitch.

"I have something to take care of, it just came up. I'm really sorry, how about we reschedule for tomorrow?" The boy on the other side of the line sighed in resignation.

"Sure, I'm going to miss you though." The redhead hummed in agreement before wishing Hope a good rest of the day, and apologizing again.

"Heh, so was that your boyfriend?" A heavily accented voice drifted through the air and Vanille jumped once again in shock nearly dropping her phone. Turing around the teen saw the brunette grinning up at her left eye still shut from the caked on blood, but the other shone a clear emerald; a shade of green that matched her own eye color. Vanille nodded hesitantly. A chuckle escaped the brunette's lips and she immediately regretted it as pain ripped through her ribs. Vanille was once again at her side.

"Are you going to be okay? Do I need to call an ambulance or something?" Worry and sincerity evident in her tone.

"No, I'll be fine after a night's sleep, I just need a bit of help getting back to my apartment." The brunette attempted to stand with Vanille's help.

Hailing one of the many taxis that travelled through the city the duo found themselves in the backseat of the yellow cab zooming towards one of the few high rise apartments in the city. "So who are you exactly, you don't sound like you're from around here." Perfectly shaped pink lips curved into a smile.

"My name's Fang and I'm not, I just moved here a month ago. But what's your name gorgeous?" Vanille felt her face heat up once again.

"I'm Vanille...Dia." she added her last name for her own benefit.

"What a lovely name." It was a quiet whisper that Vanille barely caught over the thrum of the engine. When she cast a nervous glance in Fang's direction the woman was looking out the window as if she hadn't been exchanging words moments ago.

After a few seconds, her skittish glance had become a full blown stare as she soaked in the perfectly tanned woman in front of her, trailing down from Fang's face she saw her stomach was perfectly tone and the low rise of her jeans showed just enough of Fang's underwear to be sexy without looking scant.

"Like what you see?" another husky chuckle rang out and Vanille's face matched the color of her hair, eyes darting up she met emerald twinkling amusedly.

"I'm straight!" Vanille squeaked out.

"I know, it was a joke kid." Fang's voice held an underlining humor that made Vanille smile even if she was embarrassed. Looking down at her hands she wondered how she'd been caught staring, better yet why she was even staring in the first place. The rest of the taxi ride went without the two talking, Fang staring out the window uninterestedly, and Vanille fidgeting, hands pulling and twisting the fabric of her skirt in her lap.

The taxi pulled up to Fang's apartment complex, after paying the cab fee, the duo headed towards the elevator, with Vanille helping to keep Fang upright. The elevator ride was silent and for the first time since meeting Fang, Vanille distantly wondered how old the brunette actually was. Opening her mouth to speak, she felt the elevator jolt unnaturally and then continue on its track a couple more seconds until the doors slid open on Fang's floor.

Before she could ask what had just happened, Fang was limping out the door, finding her voice again Vanille called after her, "Fang, wait, you're still injured!" The brunette paid her no heed and the redhead found herself chasing after the older woman. "Fang what's wrong all of the sudden?" It was easy enough to catch up to her but she wasn't expecting the dark look she received.

"Leave, I don't need your help." Vanille had to fight the urge to recoil from her words. The accent that had been so warm and inviting when they first met was now filled with anger and was barely recognizable. The brunette took a few more stumbling steps before she cursed, "They're here…" The redhead barely registered the words when hell broke loose around her.

A door to her left burst open and creatures that should only exist in the nightmares of young children emerged from the wooden shrapnel. The monsters were solidly black, with white glowing eyes. With a slouched back causing its overly long arms to drag against the ground, legs bent in a predatory stance. One of the creatures cast a hollow look in Vanille's direction and she screamed, body frozen on the spot. The monster howled, an unearthly screech that made the redhead's blood run cold, and charged. Almost as if in slow motion the creature moved towards her arms dragging against the ground, and all too slowly she pulled up her arms to block her face as she stumbled backwards. Curling up into a ball she waited for the end, sending silent prayers that it'd be painless.

"Vanille!" The redhead opened an eye to see Fang fighting off the monster that had charged her. Knocking it away with a well timed spin of her black and red spear. "Run! Get up and run!" Scrambling Vanille got up and ran down the hallway eyes frantically searching for an escape. "Last door on the left!" the warrior's voice echoed in her ears, as she found the appropriate door.

Wrapping clammy hands around the doorknob she pushed inwards, it was locked, "Its locked!" she screamed over the sounds of the battle that was approaching her.

"I know I just needed you by a window." The underlining humor was back in Fang's voice as she scooped Vanille up, the redhead giving a startled yelp as she saw the black creatures once again charging for her. "Hold on tight kid." With a good meter to collect speed Fang launched towards the window, busting through the glass with trained ease. The duo seemed to glide through the air for a moment before gravity caught up with them and they began to plummet towards the Earth. Vanille was still screaming as they began their descent clutching onto Fang with everything she had and just as quickly as the descent started, it stopped and the rush of wind was gone, quickly replaced by a nice breeze. Vanille opened her eyes, not realizing she had squeezed them shut in the first place. The duo was on ground level again and Fang was carrying her.

"You okay?" Fang set the redhead down, Vanille nodded shakily as she looked around, no one was around, and it was unnaturally quiet.

"What's going on? Where is everyone?" _I want to go home._ Those five words screamed at her, made her want to run away as fast as possible.

"Do you trust me?" The brunette's words cut through the fear that had invaded her senses. Her brain told her not to trust the mysterious woman, every fiber of her being agreed with her. This woman oozed danger, danger she didn't want to get involved in. Faintly she realized this was the moment that transpired in all the romance action flicks she loved to go to. The moment the normal high school girl was given the choice of doing something great, or staying normal and living a boring life.

"I-I trust you."

As if on cue a screeching howl erupted and Vanille felt a strong tug on her wrist pulling her down the sidewalk. "I'd stop running if I were you, Fang." A chilly iciness filled the air as a swirl of darkness revealed a woman dressed in a brown overcoat with matching skirt. Her hair a sandy brown that also oddly matched her outfit. In one hand she held a device that looked like a cross between a baton and pointer that a teacher would use during class. Vanille gulped as Fang slid to a stop. "We need the girl." _Huh? _"Yes you ginger, like Fang over here you have an abnormally high level of Crystarium, enough to potentially bring back the _Savior_." Her tone was clipped and precise. "Now Fang, this doesn't have to be difficult, just hand her over and you can get back to your work."

Fang growled, "She is my work, you know that as well as I do Nahbaat. I'd die before I gave her up." Vanille blushed despite the serious situation she was in; no one had ever said anything like that in her defense. Not even Hope had claimed her like that.

Chuckling darkly, "Well I guess that leaves only one option." She brought her baton down with a sharp crack and the duo was surrounded by a wall of black bodies. "Have fun ladies." With fake cheer Nahbaat disappeared in a whirl of black energy.

"Shell!" A translucent honeycombed shield bloomed around them with a three meter wide diameter giving them a large circle of space to move around in. Vanille looked back at Fang, and she held back a startled gasp, the brunette was breathing heavily from excretion, hand clutching her ribs.

"Are you okay?" rushing to the woman's side Vanille caught her just as she toppled over. "Fang?" the brunette smirked in acknowledgment.

"Nothing a good night's rest can't fix." Laughing slightly she then turned serious, "You said you trust me right?" Vanille nodded quickly. "I need you to fight those things."

The redhead shook in disbelief, "I can't possibly-" Fang was quick to cut her off.

"You can, and I trust you to."

Shakily reaching up Fang passed her spear to Vanille, something in the woman's voice made Vanille believe she could actually do it. The moment the teen touched it, something changed in her, she felt like she was tuned into a power that she'd never felt before, "Just imagine yourself protecting the most important thing to you." Vanille let her eyes close as she pictured herself fighting though the hordes of monsters that surrounded her.

"I want to protect…" her hands started to tingle from the heat emanating from the spear, "I want to protect this new found friend…" Her hands were now on fire, but she couldn't let go of the spear, "I want to protect Fang!" Her eyes snapped open as the spear disintegrated into white and began spiraling around her.

The energy surrounding the duo was strong enough to cause the breeze to pick up making Fang's hair whip around and her clothes ripple with air, Vanille's clothes were in a similar state, the spiraling energy forming in her hand swirled and folded in on itself until it began to take shape. When the energy faded Vanille was standing with a moderately sized long bow in her hands. _Here goes._ She drew back the string and let loose. As soon as the white beam of energy left the barrier, it exploded into multiple arrows destroying anything in its path. Replicating her action every ninety degree turn, in four attacks she cleared the area of all the creatures. Smiling she sank to her knees next to Fang as the barrier around them dissipated into oblivion.

"Fang, I think it's over."

"Yeah you did it." Hearing the admiration in Fang's voice made Vanille's heart soar combined with the smile on the brunettes face she felt all the breath leave her lungs making her dizzy. With rapidly dimming vision she realized she was happy that she skipped her date with Hope. "Hey, stay with me, don't be a stereotypical school girl and pass out!" Fang's words went unnoticed as the redhead collapsed into well tanned arms.

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><p>Author's Notes: Yeah so, thats the first chapter of my new, hopefully, epic adventure. Actually this starts kinda slow...really slow...and if you read the whole chapter, thanks. But anyway I figure I should explain why I wrote this, I mean besides the obvious I had an idea speech. Like I totally had a whole nother FF13 fic in the works and I put it on the wayside for one reason...theres definately not enough Fanille floating around and I figured the world could wait for one more Flight fic, plus this has been pretty fun writting, like its been awhile since I've been this excited about writing a fic.<p>

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Rise of Ragnarok, and theres more to come, probably weekly since its the summer.


	2. Running Away

Ahh new chapter, anyway because I forgot to do it in the first chapter:

I'm only a humble fanfiction writer, and dont own Final Fantasy or any products or other things I may reference.

Anyway...here we go for another action-packed chapter of RoR...

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><p>Rise of Ragnarok<p>

Chapter 2: Running Away

"_I want to protect Fang!" white surrounded the duo and filled her with power. Why would I even say that, I just met the woman and she means absolutely nothing to me…_

"Vanille." The redhead faintly heard someone call her name, "Vanille you can't stay here over night." _Fang?_ _It has to be, I don't know anyone with an accent like that._ A warm hand shook her shoulder and she blurrily opened her eyes. Closing them immediately.

"Fang, what happened to your clothes!" she squeaked out, blush ghosting against her cheeks.

"I just got out of the shower and they were dirty. What'd you expect?" Opening an eye, a little more prepared for what she was about to see, she noticed the brunette's soaking hair, the heat radiating from her body, and the towel wrapped snuggly around her body.

Rolling away from the tanned beauty in front of her she grumbled, "I'm straight." And Fang chuckled.

"I know, you told me already." Feeling Fang's weight shift from the bed she found herself relaxing slightly. "Hey, don't get too comfortable, you can't stay here your parents will be worried."

Vanille flinched, "I don't live with my parents." There was a rustle of fabric and she assumed it was Fang getting dressed.

"Oh? Your boyfriend then?" Vanille shook her head not sure if Fang had even seen the movement.

"I live by myself."

"Really, how old are you kid?"

"I'm nineteen." The redhead heard a whistle from somewhere behind her.

"You don't look it."

Vanille felt her eye twitch, "I'm just short, not my fault." She all but pouted.

"Defensive are we now?" All in the same moment Fang was lying in front of her on the queen sized bed mere inches away, smiling mischievously. "Long as you're legal, I could care less." At a loss of words Vanille merely stared.

"I think I need to go…" sitting up she quickly exited from the room, stalked through the living room and made it to the door before Fang called to her.

"I'm surprised you don't want to know what happened this afternoon." She froze, she did want to know, she needed to know what had happened and why. Turning around she stopped and blinked when she saw what Fang was now dressed in, a pair of black bike shorts and a matching sports bra. Looking down at her own wrinkled tee-shirt and skirt, she felt over dressed. "Well take a seat an I'll explain." The brunette made a wide gesture towards the couch that took up a good portion of the back wall of living room.

Sitting down Vanille felt herself sink into the overly plush leather; Fang sat on the other side of the couch, one leg crossed and the other hanging off the black leather as she faced Vanille.

"Hmm where to begin," she brought a well manicured finger to her chin and tapped in thought, "Vanille, you're a very special young lady and it's a privilege to have met you."

Vanille blushed faintly, "Fang, that's cheating…"

Fang smirked victoriously, "I thought you were straight." Vanille only got redder, Fang seemingly ignored her and continued, "Where I come from," she began her voice losing all signs of humor, "A few choice people have been trying to resurrect something long dead. An evil, their _Savior _as they call him, that shouldn't be brought back into the world, and those people believe that the power needed to bring back that evil is Crystarium. Although lots of people have abilities based around Crystarium, very few have the large pool of energy that they desire." Fang stopped to allow the redhead to understand what she had just said.

"So," Vanille ventured, "what exactly does this have to do with me?"

Fang smirked, "That should be simple enough to understand, yeah? You've got one of the highest levels of Crystarium seen for the last five hundred years."

"But I'm not even from where ever you're from…" she stopped for a moment, "wait, where are you even from?"

Fang shrugged, "A viper's nest. In a galaxy far, far away." For a few seconds the brunette attempted to hold a straight face but her serious façade crumpled into laughter at the lack of understanding on the teen's face. "That was a joke, yeah? But I can't tell you where I'm from, it's against intergalactic code." Ruffling her hair in nervousness from the blank look she was getting she continued, "Having high levels of Crystarium has nothing to do with what planet you're born on, you just have it and people that do have high levels normally have special abilities." To emphasize her point she held out a hand and a ball of white light formed on it, closing her palm suddenly the ball straightened out, twin beams sticking out from either side of her closed palm, opening her palm the white light swirled back into a sphere, "I guess you could call it magic. For someone with a low level, shaping a ball to their will would take years of practice." She stopped once again to let the redhead catch up.

Vanille shook her head in complete refusal of the facts presented to her, "That kind of thing doesn't happen, and I'm completely normal!"

"Ever have anything weird happen to you," Fang cut in spreading a small level of doubt, "maybe simply thinking something made it happen?" She remembered wanting some jerk to trip and almost immediately he had tripped over his own shoes. Another memory of running after a bus and praying for it to stop, seconds later it had.

"Coincidence." She spoke not fully believing the words that left her lips.

"What about a few hours ago, you used _magic_ earlier to fight those monsters."

Vanille shook her head in disbelief even as images of the power she'd wielded flashed through her mind, "That was you, that was your ability not mine!"

Fang shook her head in the negative, "All I did was give you my spear, you transformed it yourself" Like any person that chose to deny their destiny Vanille quietly stood up slid on shoes and ran out the front door.

Fang sighed and leaned back against the arm of her couch, blue, fang shaped earrings twinkling in the evening light that seeped in curtains. Running a hand through dark locks she sighed again, _Hopefully Nahbaat will stay away long enough for me to find and talk some sense into her, Vanille you can no longer deny your destiny now that she's found you._ Rising from her couch she went to get dressed.

When the brunette stepped out of her apartment she was dressed in a leather jacket, black slim fit tee-shirt, and a new pair of her signature hole laden jeans. With calm steps she made her way towards the elevator, as she boarded the elevator, her phone rang.

"You know you shouldn't have done that." The chilliest voice Fang had ever heard chastised her over the phone. "I didn't blow anyone's cover so I think we're okay." Chuckling, "I think it went rather well compared to getting the boy to come along with us."

"Whatever." Fang, ever present smirk still in place, could feel the other person rolling their eyes in annoyance.

"I've got this, trust me."

A sigh from the person she was talking to, "Just keep your hands to yourself, Fang."

The brunette shrugged, "Whatever I can't help it if she's cute, _Light_." With that she flipped the phone closed. Smiling to herself she hummed along with overly pleasant elevator music.

0000

Serah Farron was in the middle of possibly one of the best movies she'd seen in her eighteen years of life when her door bell rung. Pausing the movie she pulled on some pants, knowing it was highly inappropriate to answer the door in just your underwear and an overly large shirt, and shuffled down stairs. What greeted her when she opened the door made her gasp in shock. "Vanille?" the redhead in question nodded not trusting herself to speak through tears. Serah didn't waste any more time and quickly pulled the redhead into her home. As soon as the pink haired teen shut the door, the redhead collapsed in her arms bringing them both to the floor as Vanille cried, "Hey, what's wrong? It's going to be okay." Serah tried her best to calm the girl down as she shuddered with uncontrollable sobs, incoherently rambling about magic and dark creatures attacking her.

After what seemed like hours, Vanille's tears slowly started to ebb away into much more manageable sniffles. Remaining as quiet as possible Serah stood, grabbing Vanille's hand on the way, and walked over to the couch. Sitting the redhead down she walked away to the kitchen and moments later emerged with a glass of water. Gratefully accepting the glass, the redhead took a long drag from it and then sighed, "Calm now?"

Vanille nodded, "Yeah I think I'll be okay, I was just a bit overwhelmed."

Serah nodded in understanding, "What got you so worked up though?" sighing again the redhead drank from the glass again and closed her eyes in thought.

"Well it started this morning when I met _her_, and she was hurt so I thought I'd help." Serah nodded along as Vanille recounted her day only asking questions if she needed something clarified.

"So," Serah began as Vanille finished her story, "what was the name of the mysterious woman you kept talking about she seems awfully important to this whole story." Vanille cringed slightly, blush coloring her cheeks as she remembered hearing the brunette's name for the first time.

"Her name was Fang," the blush suddenly leaving her as she puffed out her cheeks slightly, "and I hate her." Serah gulped slightly at the mention of Fang's name. _Well that explains everything…_

Laughing it off Serah tossed a joke, "Fang? Really, what an odd name for a woman."

"Yeah and she had these odd fang shaped earrings too, what is this, the 80's" Vanille joked back. Serah mentally cringed, _Fang loves her earrings…_ but she laughed along anyway.

After Vanille had calmed down enough, the two ventured to Serah room to finish watching the movie. By the time the credits rolled, Vanille had fallen asleep, and the pink haired teen wasn't sure if she should move the redhead from her shoulder. By the time Serah had decided that she wouldn't disturb her friend the door to her room was being opened and the tallest woman Serah had ever known stepped into her room, "Hey Light you're home early."

After making herself comfortable against Serah's dresser she spoke annoyance present at the edges of her tone, "The place closed earlier than normal because our bartender didn't show." Serah put a finger to her lips and for the first time since entering Lightning noticed the redhead sleeping against Serah's shoulder, _"Is that her?"_ the words were hastily mouthed, and the pink haired teen nodded in confirmation.

As swiftly and quietly as possible Lightning lifted the redhead from her sister's shoulder and deposited her under the blankets. After making sure Vanille was still soundly asleep, the Farron sisters left the room to have a conversation in the kitchen. "So who would have thought, your best friend would turn out to be one of the few with enough power to summon Ragnarok."

Serah shrugged, "Given who my friends and family are, I'm not really that surprised, I'm just surprised we didn't realize earlier."

Lightning nodded, "Aside from a few strange accidents that seem to happen around her nothing really happened to activate her power, which makes me kind of wonder if Fang knew."

"Light, you know she has an eye for these things, that's how she found Snow." Lightning sighed, and leaned against the black marble counter top of their kitchen.

"Right," she drawled out, displeasure evident in her voice, "and we all know what happened after that." Serah tried to hide her blush behind a yawn.

"Oh look at the time, it's getting late and I have work tomorrow." With a dismissive wave and a good night, Lightning let Serah go. Pulling a phone from her jeans Lightning dialed a number and waited while it ringed. Hearing the click as the phone was picked up she didn't wait for any conformation that someone had even answered, "You got very lucky tonight, don't let it happen again."

"Thanks for calling but I can't come to the phone right now, you can leave a message after the beep." Lightning ground her teeth and clicked her phone closed. _At least act like you care about your job._

Somewhere in the city Fang chuckled to herself as she looked down at her cell phone, knowing Lightning was pissed at her for ignoring her call. _Least Vanille's safe though… _Life had just gotten more interesting for the brunette and the rest of the group. Now that they knew who their enemies were after, all they had to do was protect the girl until she accepted what she was and joined the cause. Maybe she'd get to see her home world again, once everything was over.

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><p>Author's Notes: Woo, that was a fun chapter to write, I think I wrote it all in one sitting a few days back, it is a little shorter than my first chapter only because it had less going on you know. But yeah anyway moving right along.<p>

Finally I'd love to actually thank the people that reviewed. Its great to actually get feed back from people, so thanks:

Pen Journey, TheWarrior12, Tigon O, Phenix

_Well untill next time folks._


	3. Magic

A/N: Well, welcome to the next instalment of Rise of Ragnarok, sorry for the late update..I was busy...sort of.

btw, I dont own Final Fantasy XIII or any other products or places I may mention in this work, you guys know the bit.

Now without further ado...

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><p>Rise of Ragnarok<p>

Chapter 3: Magic

It was one thing to get on her nerves; it was another entirely to piss her off. Ducking under a well timed spear strike, Lighting back flipped to give herself some space. Gritting her teeth as soon as her feet touched the ground she pushed off bringing her gun blade up to strike, she barreled into Fang with enough force to send them flying through the air. Fang landed on her back spear still blocking blade as the pink haired woman refused to give up the attack, "Light, we're just sparing, chill!" the brunette's voice barely holding on to levity as Lightning's blade inched closer to her face. Fang realized that her actions the previous day had done the latter, and now an angry Lightning was out for her blood.

"I will not _chill_; you jeopardized our mission, broke three intergalactic laws and skipped work last night."

"Light, come on _your're_ attracting too much attention." The brunette lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow as Lighting looked up in mortification; she had completely forgotten where she was and the few people that were out having a early morning jog were openly staring at the two.

"Are they some weird movie re-enactors?" One woman in a neon jogging suit whispered to her friend, "Maybe they're some S&M couple?" Her friend whispered back.

"I can hear, you know!" Lightning all but yelled face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. Removing herself from Fang's waist she stood and glared menacingly at the two women. Both quickly turned away and started walking again. Lightning frowned and brushed the dirt off her black slim-fit vest and stone washed jeans. Fang followed suit brushing off a mix of grass and dust.

"So now that that's a bust, can I go home, I'd actually like to get some sleep?"

Lightning rolled her eyes, "I could care less what you do, just don't do anything stupid."

"Me? Doing something stupid? Yeah right Light, Luck be my lady and trouble my last name." Lightning groaned, "That's what I was afraid of…"

00000

_Death and destruction rained around her, flames licking against buildings and the pained groans of those unlucky enough to still be alive rang in her ears as a cacophony of sorrow and madness, and she had caused it all, tossing her head back she laughed gleefully like a child, red locks matching the color of the flames around her. "Vanille!" turning on an invisible, floating pedestal to meet her newest challenger, her smile dropped, it was Fang, "Vanille, this isn't you, Crystarium is only supposed to protect, not destroy." Her childish jubilance gone, she screamed as she realized what she had done. The dark power surging through her veins fought to keep control over its vessel, but Vanille was fighting just as hard to rein in control of her powers. "Fang…I…I just wanted to protect you." She felt herself drift down and land in waiting arms. "It's okay, I'm here for you, you're whole family is too. We're all here for you." With those words Vanille felt herself break down into tears as she cried on Fang's shoulder._

Vanille awoke with a start, eyes scanning the pink walls around her for any sign of where she was. Her eyes flickered to the nightstand beside the bed and her anxiety dropped a few notches as she spotted a picture of Serah and her sister smiling as Serah held up a fish, by the dark green coloring Vanille knew it was the bass the pink haired teen had caught last summer during a camping trip. _When did I even fall asleep?_ Flames flashed through her mind and she shivered, _That was creepy_, images of Fang flashed through her mind and she felt her face heat up, _I'm glad she saved me though…Wait, I'm supposed to be angry at her, but I don't think I can…_Groaning to herself she rolled out of Serah's bed and headed downstairs, the sight that greeted her was anything but what she wanted to see. Lightning pressed against the wall and a dark haired woman pressed just as close.

If anything Lightning looked embarrassed at the other woman's advances. "Light, please I'd really love to get to know you better."

"No, thank you, I'm really not into that kind of thing."

The woman gave a small slightly flirty laugh, "I guess Snow wasn't kidding when he said you had a sister complex." Lightning went pale, before she flushed with anger, pushing the woman away.

"We'll talk later Lebreau." Stumbling back with a slight pout she attempted to ask what the problem was but was quickly brushed off.

0000

By the time Lightning had gone to check on Vanille the redhead was long gone. Travelling down the same side walk she had the day before, the same things that had made her smile and nearly laugh in glee now didn't seem as cheerful as before. The thought alone puzzled her, had her life really changed that much in twenty four hours.

She shook her head, no her life hadn't changed. Taking a calming breath she pushed away the memories of battle and talk of power. _I'm still just a normal teenage girl, no magic, no destiny, just a normal teenage girl._ Almost to prove her point, her phone rang, looking at the caller ID Vanille felt a small smile tug at her lips, "Hope."

"Vanille? I'm glad I finally got a hold of you, I tried to call last night and you didn't answer."

"I had a long day, and I guess I fell asleep early." Sitting down on a park bench, she sighed as she felt an overwhelming sense of normalcy.

"Oh, is that so, you had me worried." A moment of silence passed between them, "Hey Vanille," Hearing the playfulness in his voice the redhead waited for the punch line, "turn around." The redhead obliged and looked over her shoulder, and her smile widened. Hope was standing a few meters away, in the shade of nearby trees. If it wasn't for his silvery blonde hair and brightly colored outfit, he might have been able to blend in with the foliage. Smiling brightly, Vanille looked her boyfriend up and down; it was the outfit she had picked out for him last week a lime green tee under a sunflower yellow shirt that he left unbuttoned along with khaki shorts. Simply put, Hope looked absolutely radiant, _and very gay. _Vanille suddenly frowned; _Fang had never said anything about Hope, so why imagine her saying it? _

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she skipped towards her boyfriend, only to be stopped as her world shifted out of focus and shook. Vanille felt time slow around her, her first blink turned the world into what could only be described as a photo negative, the second gave the world an odd sepia tinge and her third returned her world to normal. Only Hope was no longer there. _No…not now, please not again…_

"And here I thought Fang would keep a closer eye on you." Vanille slowly turned towards the park bench she had been sitting on moments before. Perfectly balanced on the thin wooden back as if it were an actual chair, Nahbaat floated, legs crossed and managing to look completely bored. "So how are you doing Vanille? I know it's certainly hard to learn about what you truly are." The redhead only stared, completely frozen in a mix of fear and shock. Nahbaat extended a finely gloved hand, "So are you ready to come with us, princess?"

_Death and destruction rained around her, flames licking against buildings and the pained groans of those unlucky enough to still be alive rang in her ears as a cacophony of sorrow and madness…_ She took a shaking step backwards, "No,"

Nahbaat's eyes seemed to glow behind her glasses, "Why not join us, you could have anything you want," Vanille took another step backwards, "Your wildest dreams." Finally tearing her eyes away from the evil in front of her, the teen turned and ran.

_Someone, help me. I don't want to become that…that beast…._visions of flames danced behind her eyes.

Almost as fast as she had entered the woods, she found herself lost in them. Stopping to catch her breath, Nahbaat's words seemed to echo around her as she turned from side to side, looking for any possible escape. Giving up on an escape route she began running again, praying that someone would help her.

00000

Nahbaat smiled gleefully as she watched Vanille wander in circles through the woods. Tracing a finger through the floating puddle she was using to watch the redhead, she distorted the image until it disappeared. Barely glancing over her shoulder she called out to the two who had approached, "Leave me, I'm busy."

"Do you ever get tired of screwing with people's lives?" Nahbaat's request was ignored.

"Never, I actually find it quite fun." Smiling, she turned to look at Lightning and Fang.

"Where's Vanille?" Fang spoke this time.

"You're awfully hasty to play the 'knight in shining armor' aren't you Fang?" The brunette growled in response, her spear at the ready, eyes blazing with barely controlled fury.

"Where. Is. She."

Nahbaat smiled maliciously, "If I didn't know any-" The witch was cut short when Fang launched a ball of white light towards her which was quickly followed up by Lightning charging towards her blade drawn.

"You're done talking." Nahbaat shrugged as she began blocking and dodging strike after strike.

00000

After firing a Ruin spell at Nahbaat, Fang had charged off into the woods leaving Lightning to fight. It was a plan the two had discussed as soon as they felt Nahbaat's Crystarium field go up, and it had gone smoother than expected. With Lightning distracting Nahbaat, Fang could look for Vanille with almost no trouble and keep her safe until back-up arrived.

Following her well trained senses, it hadn't taken Fang long to find Vanille. The brunette bit back a curse as she saw the girl struggling against a group of Cie'th. The dark creatures were slowly encircling her as she vainly tried to blast them away with magic after catching a few in razor thin wire from what could only be described as a antler shaped binding rod. Although the redhead was struggling, she was holding her own efficiently enough. Fang would have kept her distance from the battle if a Cie'th wasn't edging dangerously close to Vanille from behind.

"I don't think so buddy." Charging forward the brunette put herself in between the oncoming Cie'th and Vanille. The black creature slammed into Fang, but she didn't budge, as a translucent yellow glow emanated from her skin. Startled by the lack of impact its attack had the Cie'th backed up and tried again with similar results. "Hah, is that all you've got?" Fang laughed as she swept her spear through the air knocking the creature back. "Hey stay focused now," Fang spoke before Vanille could turn to look at her.

Keeping her attention on the enemies in front of her the redhead spoke, "F-fang?"

"Who else?" the response was immediate and the redhead felt her heart pump a little faster. "So how 'bout we finish off these nasty creeps and go get lunch somewhere?" Vanille felt her worry dissipate as Fang spoke with her usual cheer.

After Fang joined the battle the duo made short work of the remaining Cie'th, with the combination of Fang's swift strikes and Vanille's new found magic it was smooth sailing.

"Man that was easy." Fang yawned and stretched.

Vanille shook her head, "If that was easy I don't want to have to fight the hard stuff." She was sitting behind Fang and resting against a tree.

"It won't be hard if we face it together." Turning suddenly, she crouched down in front of Vanille and took her hand, "I'm sorry for leaving you alone and I should have been here sooner." The sincerity in the brunette's eye caught the redhead off guard and she could only blush in response. _Fang, you're cheating again...it's getting harder to dislike her I wonder if anyone else feels this breathless around her._ Seconds after she finished her apology the brunette stood back up, pulling Vanille up with her. Stumbling slightly Vanille leaned against Fang, "Careful there." Vanille backed away and nodded, still holding onto Fang's hand.

"Fang?" the redhead spoke interrupting the silence that surrounded them.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for saving me."

"I couldn't just leave such a beautiful girl like you to get captured, could I?" the redhead's blush was back in full force and Fang chuckled at her own words as she pulled Vanille along, fingers intertwined.

By the time Fang and Vanille emerged from the forest, Lightning was chatting with Hope, who seemed to be distraught at the fact that he couldn't find his girlfriend. "It's okay, and I'm sure she's fine."

"But, she was running towards me, and all the sudden she disappeared, that doesn't just happen."

"Are you on drugs kid?" Lightning as aloof as always talked down to Hope.

"No, why would I do drugs? Plus I'm sure you're in on whatever happened here anyway!"

"Hope!" Quickly letting go of Fang's hand the redhead rushed towards her boyfriend.

"Vanille you're- oof!" Vanille ran into him and wrapped the teen in the strongest hug she had.

"Hope, I thought I wasn't going to see you again." After regaining his balance the silver haired teen hugged the redhead just as hard in return.

"Vanille, I was worried, are you okay, no injuries or anything?"

"I'm fine, a friend helped me out, and I guess I just got lost."

"But you just disappeared, what happened?" Hope pulled himself away from Vanille, not willing to answer the question she leaned forward and kissed him, and not one to deny a kiss, Hope responded back eagerly.

"Light gag me." Fang had walked over to Lightning to watch Hope and Vanille's interaction.

"You should have seen that coming," Lightning retorted smirk working its way on her face, "serves you right for shamelessly flirting with her."

Fang scoffed back, "What do you know? I've been nothing less than a gentleman around her."

Lightning rolled her eyes, "Right," turning away as the chaste kiss turned into something more, "grab the girl and let's go."

Fang grimaced, "Why do I always fall for the straight ones?" Lightning didn't answer as she walked away from the scene.

Fang put on her best smile as she approached the teens and coughed to get their attention. "Kid if you don't mind I need to borrow your girlfriend for a little chat." At best Fang sounded frosty, something that didn't go unnoticed by Vanille. Not giving Hope any time to think up a response Fang casually tossed an arm around the redhead's shoulders and guided her away.

"H-hey! Where are you taking her?" No answer was given, "Vanille are you really going with her?" the redhead cast a look over her shoulder as Fang whisked her away and mouthed a promise to call later before getting into a car and riding off with Fang.

* * *

><p>AN: So, another splendid chapter of RoR once again, I'm sorry 'bout this being late, honestly it should have come out a bit earlier...but yeah I got busy doing other stuff. But anyway, I'd like to throw out another round of thank yous for those that reviewed:

SurfaceMemory, Tigon O, TheWarrior12, Phenix, Flashed-Fox, Hotcutii3

Now, I'll be off, but yah, stay on the look out for next weeks edition of Rise of Ragnarok


	4. A New Life

Rise of Ragnarok

Chapter 4: A New Life

The atmosphere inside Lightning's car was frosty, while Lightning focused on driving, Fang stared disinterestedly out of the passenger window, while Vanille sat in the back looking from woman to woman waiting for one to speak. The heavy silence was oppressive and Vanille slumped in her seat, suddenly feeling guilty, "Fang?"

"Yeah?" There was no humor in her voice.

"Are you angry?"

"At?" Fang drawled out, still looking out the window, Lightning audibly sighed in the background.

"I don't know…me?" The brunette remained silent and the lack of sound spoke volumes.

"Vanille, she's not mad at you, just jealous." The pink haired woman's voice was level with an undertone of sarcasm. Fang scoffed but didn't deny Lightning's words. Vanille sat up a little straighter as an awkward silence descended on the vehicle.

"You ready to explain how you used your powers?" the trio was now sitting in Lightning's living room around a coffee table. Sighing the redhead took a sip from the cup in her hands before looking up at Lightning.

"I don't really know what happened, I just followed Fang's advice and thought of who I wanted to protect, and before I knew it I was slaying those things,"

"Cie'th." Lightning corrected quickly.

"And then Fang showed up…" she averted her gaze as the brunette's apology fully sank in. The pink haired woman nodded as Vanille explained her story.

"That makes sense. Now that you understand the power you hold are you willing to join us?"

The redhead shrugged, "I don't have much choice do I?"

"None." The brunette chimed in seeming more herself now.

"Okay, but can you answer one question?" Lightning motioned for her to proceed.

"Who are you people exactly? And who are the people after me?"

Lightning sighed, "First off, we're not from this planet, at least I'm not, Serah was born here though, and I lead a group of intergalactic peace keepers committed to stopping Sanctum." Lightning paused for a moment noticing the blank look she was getting and rephrased her words, "Most of us, come from a world in a different galaxy. A planet called Cocoon, which is ruled by Sanctum, the group that wants to revive Ragnarok."

Vanille nodded, still slightly confused. "Right, but what does any of that have to do with me?"

Lightning sighed, "Fang I thought you already explained this?"

The woman in question ran a hand through her hair, "I did, but she didn't believe me…"

The pink haired woman sighed and looked back at the redhead staring directly into her eyes, "Vanille, you're the only person with enough power to destroy Sanctum."

"But I'm just a normal person-" Lightning quickly cut her off, "You saw for yourself what you could do, that doesn't make you not normal, just special." Her ever present frown turned into a slight smile as she put a reassuring hand on the redhead's shoulder, "Starting tomorrow, I'll have Fang teach you how to channel your abilities and I know you and Serah took a couple self defense classes together this year, so I'm not particularly worried about that." The redhead nodded. _What have I gotten myself into?_

0000

As promised the redhead found herself being treated to lunch at a local fast food restaurant, Fang sitting across from her in a shared booth. After her brief talk with the older Farron sister, the redhead was left with more questions than when she was first attacked, questions that she was dying to have answered.

"Why is it such a big deal to destroy Sanctum?" eyes widening, Vanille quickly covered her mouth with a hand, not meaning to blurt the question out loud.

Fang looked up from her food somewhat startled at the break from quiet. "It's not that we're trying to destroy them, Light really used too harsh of words there, but we just wish to stop them."

"Why?" Vanille blurted out again before she caught herself, cheeks reddening from her outburst.

Fang just chuckled, "Depends on who you ask, Light wants to destroy them for taking away her parents, Sazh, who you'll meet later, just wants to get his son back, and me, I want to pay them back for what they did to Gran Pulse." A deadly flicker passed through emerald. The redhead watched the emotions wash over the brunette's face as she seemed to be recalling something from long buried memories.

After a long moment Fang sighed and visibly deflated before continuing, "Gran Pulse was once a beautiful place, very stagnated but open and clean. In between all the cities there was a thriving ecosystem, sure it could be a bit dangerous at times but it built character. The best part though, everything was green," Fang smiled, this time it was much different. Her usual rakish smirk replaced by a smile that held an enticing warmth causing Vanille's heart skip a beat or two. "and I'd love to take you to see it one day." The redhead's heart skipped once again. _This can't be healthy; I can just imagine the guys lining up to go out with her, wait... _Before the redhead could ask the newest question that ran through her thoughts, the brunette warrior stood, "I'm gonna go throw the trash away and then we'll head out."

The duo walked through the streets in silence, both seemingly preoccupied with their own thoughts. As they walked Vanille found herself comparing Hope to Fang. After dating the teen for a month she'd seen a few different sides of the silver haired youth. Hope was slightly clingy and whiney while Fang seemed self assured and independent. Hope had a great since of humor and the brunette told jokes that she barely understood. To top it off Hope was twice as nice as Fang but Vanille couldn't shake the nagging feeling that told her Fang was a lot nicer than she generally appeared. _Hope is a normal teenager my age, and Fang…she's like the cool older rebel that fights the establishment…_The redhead smiled to herself as she summed up her thoughts unsure why she had even began comparing them in the first place, she was with Hope and she planned to keep it that way.

0000

"Jihl Nahbaat, you have failed me for the last time!" The woman in question cringed; she was back on Cocoon, meeting with the only man more excited about the eminent return of their savior than she was Primarch Galenth Dysley.

"Primarch please give me another chance, I wasn't expecting her to use her powers, and they showed up. I-" The man lifted his staff and snapped it back down with enough force to cause an echoing boom in the large throne room.

"Enough! Capturing that _child_ should not have been a difficult task. If you hadn't been out trying to have fun, the L'cie wouldn't have shown up in time." Sliding a boney hand under the thin veil that masked his aged face, he ran a hand over his face and sighed. "We should be ushering in the Savior. I should be happy right now, Jihl." He paused and flipped the veil away from his face, "I should be rejoicing and celebrating a job well done. But you have failed me, after having two chances to capture her, you have failed me." Sitting back and letting the veil slide back into place, "I believe it's time for your replacement." With a flick of his wrist two guards appeared on either side of the distraught woman each hoisting her up by an arm.

"But before you go," he chuckled darkly and signaled off to his left, Nahbaat followed his movement, "I'd like you to see your new replacement. I hear you two had a stent in the Sanctum academy together."

Nahbaat's jaw dropped, standing in front of her was Yaag Rosch, the man she had easily outscored twenty years ago. His now grey hair trimmed and cut to fit his new uniform. "I always did think I'd look good with spiky hair."

The ex-Sanctum general pulled against the guards holding her and began to scream, "How dare _you _take my job! I thought you retired?"

He regarded her with the cold unfeeling eyes of a tactician, "Who better to take the number one spot after the number one herself fails miserably?"He all but sneered at her, but continued on without delay answering her next question, "My retirement was only a formality, and an easily shrugged off one if a higher purpose calls upon your service. Plus, I believe it's time for the reinstitution of the PSICOM special forces." His words seemed to kill any resistance that Nahbaat had and she slumped against the guards allowing herself to be dragged away. Not sparing the broken woman another glance Rosch approached the throne and dropped to one knee.

"How may I serve you, Primarch?"

Nahbaat lay in her prison cell, she felt hollow. She knew she failed the Primarch but had she really deserved the imprisonment. She cast a dismal gaze at her surroundings with a life like this; the best she could hope for was a quick death. Maybe she should have listened to her mother all those years ago. Her mother had always warned her that her ambition would be the end of her and she was skeptical at first. But after obtaining the rank of general, her mother's words seemed like bitter lies, told to her by a woman who missed her husband. Now her words made sense, they were the words of a woman who knew from experience. A sigh escaped her lips as she gazed up at the white wash ceiling; distantly she heard the click of boots approaching her cell block.

"Fate got ya down sweetheart?" Nahbaat jumped in surprise, quickly sitting up and looking between the thick cell bars. "I'm kinda surprised Dysley threw away his precious Jihl, musta pissed him off real good huh?"

"Silence, Rygdea!"

"Geez Cid, don't be so stiff man, makes you seem old."

"Yes, well, you should mind your tongue; I will not have you alerting everyone of our presence." There was a shuffle of boots and the clink and jingle of something metallic, "Well Nahbaat, how would you like to join us? It's better than staying in this place."

The door swung open and a dark haired man stepped in the cell, his white cloak billowing out around his white boots. "I've got nothing else to live for, this can't be any worse."

"That's the spirit sweetheart." The shaggy haired man looked in from the cell opening his eyes alight with some unknown humor. Cid only sighed and put a hand against his face.

"Let us make haste Jihl, it's only a matter of time before the guards come back." Offering her a hand that she willingly took the two made their way out of the cell.

The trio walked out of the prison and Nahbaat took a deep breath, "Welcome to the Cavalry." Cid looked over to Nahbaat and gave a small smile, "Let us go forth and free this world from Sanctum."

"First though, let's get you a new uniform. Prison garb won't fit your new position." The raven haired man looked the now free convict up and down. Nahbaat smiled. _Maybe losing my job wasn't so bad, seems like I'm a little freer now, and maybe there's something better for the world than bringing about its destruction._

* * *

><p><em>AN: _Yeah, chap 4's up on the blocks. Its shorter than all the previous chapters, because there wasnt really a lot that needed to be covered story wise and it was a good way to showcase the main antagonist for the rest of the story.

So, moving right along than, thanks to those you dropped me a review, it was much appreciated;

Phoenixian Stardust, Hotcutii3, Pen Journey, TheWarrior12

Once again thank you. And I bid you gentle folks and readers ado until next time.


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